13: An American Horror Story also features 13 short stories “based on actual events” of Seph Lawless’ journey through America’s haunted houses.

“There’s a growing number of people that have a need for feeling vulnerable and afraid,” he told news.com.au. “They want to experience fear as long as it’s in a controlled environment. Now people can enjoy my dangerous and oftentimes horrifying journeys by simply viewing them on their smartphones from the comfort of their own homes.”

So why is he drawn to abandoned places? “It started with my project Autopsy of America, which is an ongoing project that raises awareness about the decline of the American economy and the how that effects the American people and the world.”

The stories in the new book are what he calls “creative nonfiction”. “It’s taking real-life stories and making them appear to be fiction. The goal is to make the reader become so enthralled by the details and the fantasy that they forget the story is real,” he says.

“Nothing is more frightening then the truth, so humanity invented lies, half-truths and misconceptions. Mankind prefers to be deceived, so let it be. I hope people take away a more truthful depiction of their reality and surroundings after reading these stories.”

“In 1941, The Haught Mansion (Brush Park, MI) was used as a brothel for upscale gentlemen. Years later several dead bodies were found in the cellar of the mansion. Each body had been marked by a what appeared to be a perfect circle on the torso and chest areas.”

2. KENTUCKY

“So the story goes, after both parents committed double suicide in the Sayer House their four small children raised themselves for more than a decade in this home.”

3. OHIO

“The Nova House (Youngstown, Ohio) was the place where Benjamin Albright shot and killed his son by accident then killed himself and his wife after being struck with anguish and guilt in 1958. The home has been vacant ever since and still has personal belongings inside.”

4. MICHIGAN

“The Temple Haunted Mansion (Detroit, MI) was the home of a triple murder that took place in August 1942.”

5. TEXAS

“The Hooley Haunted Mansion was home to several strange deaths throughout the 1970s when the mansion served as a bed and breakfast for passing transients.”

6. OHIO

“The Milan Mansion has long been suspected as a home that practices witchcraft. The owner was a practising witch known by locals as the Milan Witch, and is said to be buried underneath front porch.”

7. PENNSYLVANIA

“The Doll House Mansion (Philadelphia, PA) is an abandoned mansion full of nothing but dolls and organised metal saws and tools neatly displayed on metal shelves through out several rooms.”

8. CONNECTICUT

“The Bailey Mansion (Hartford, Connecticut) is the haunted house that inspired the popular television series American Horror Story.”

9. OHIO

“This Cleveland home was where serial killer Michael Madison tortured and killed his victims.”

10. PENNSYLVANIA

“This is the Oliver Family Mansion in Chester, PA. The Oliver family went missing in 1898. The mystery baffled investigators and the family was never found but locals say they can see them in the windows of the mansion.”

11. OHIO

“This is the Akron childhood home of one of the most notorious serial killers in American history, Robert Berdella (also known as the Butcher of Kansas City). In his prison psychiatric profile, Berdella spoke of his rough childhood in Ohio. Specifically, he mentioned his rape at age 16, an act that triggered his desire to move to Kansas City, and kill off everybody in the sex industry in the process.”

12. NEW YORK

“The Cater House Estates in Buffalo, New York was home to the local sheriff Donald Caters when he shot himself. The home went into foreclosure in 1968. The house remained vacant and haunted ever since with locals alleging they hear voices coming from the house regularly.”

13. OHIO

“This abandoned house in East Cleveland is where Serial killer Anthony Sowell hid victims’ bodies. The house is now demolished but locals would cross the street refusing to walk on the sidewalk directly in front of the house claiming that the home made noises.”